In November, working together with Statistics South Africa, we published the 2011 South Africa Population Census results and annual mid-year population estimates on Google Public Data Explorer (PDE). PDE is a platform that is designed to help people understand statistics and data through rich, interactive visualisations. South Africa is the second country in Sub-Saharan Africa (after Kenya) to put its census results on Google PDE.So how can you use the census data on PDE? You can compare the data across provinces and municipalities using the four main categories currently available - Demographics, Education, Households, and Labour Market. For example, you can compare the unemployment rate across all 9 provinces against the national average. You can also compare the unemployment rate within a province such as Gauteng, across municipalities of City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni.

You can view the data in different formats - line graphs, bar graphs, maps or bubble charts, across time and geographical location. The population estimates data is dynamic, which means you can watch the graphs/charts move and grow over time, change topics, and highlight different categories. Here is a video showing you how it works:

Once you have the chart ready, you can easily share it with friends or embed it on your website or blog. This makes it a useful tool for researchers, policymakers, town planners, public agencies, non-governmental organisations and the general public interested in tracking statistical changes and trends in South Africa.

At Google, we’re working to promote citizens’ access to information in line with the principles of the Open Government Partnership, by providing “high-value information, including raw data, in a timely manner, in formats that the public can easily locate, understand and use, and in formats that facilitate reuse.” Over the next few months, we will continue working with Stats SA to put together more of their data on PDE.Posted by Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Public Policy Manager, Google South Africa.